Review – Star Wars #12 (Dark Horse)

Not a month goes by where I don’t praise this book, and issue #12 is no exception.

This is the wrap-up issue of the latest storyline, and as well as setting up for the next major arc, we also see the forming of Rogue Squadron, which has been coming for the last couple of issues, but now they’re here, it sets up for a lot of potential awesomeness to come.

Wedge Antilles and Princess Leia have both been getting their fair share of page-time in this title, and that’s really the book’s strongest point. With the series being set between Episode IV and ‘Empire’, there is room to elaborate on those characters, and although it’s all essentially retro-fitting continuity, Brian Wood does a very good job of making the characters interesting and readable. In the closing pages, this issue sees Leia agreeing to a pre-arranged political marriage in order to further the rebellion cause, and adds another layer to the character that further cements her as one of the main draws of this title. Wood has made Leia into a better character than she ever was in this series, and in issue #12 we see her kicking ass with the best of them.

Carlos D’anda is still holding down art duties on this title, and he is nailing it. His style suits the SW universe wonderfully, and I can’t express enough how happy I am that he didn’t go down the rout of ‘Let’s make everyone look like the actors’. He’s brought his own style to the book, and he’s a perfect fit. His Vader looks about as mean as you could ever want him to, and his work on the ship exteriors is one of my favourite parts of the title, all of which are present in this issue.

Simply put, this isn’t just the best Star Wars comics hitting shelves at the minute. To my mind, it’s one of the best Star Wars comics, PERIOD. Buy this book, all the time.

Rating: 9.5/10.

The writer of this piece was:Alan Shields aka (Al) You can also find Al on Facebook